Noise Levels in Barnum West, Denver, CO | Find Quiet Neighborhoods With Our Sound Map
56 dBA
Average noise across Barnum West
Quiet office to normal conversation
2,246
Residents above the EPA 55 dBA threshold
57% of Barnum West residents
69 dBA
Loudest residential point
Highway traffic 50 ft away
This map shows modeled outdoor noise across Barnum West at 100-meter resolution, combining road, aviation, and rail sources. Green areas measure below 45 dBA. Orange and red exceed the EPA's 55 dBA outdoor threshold linked to long-term health effects. Use the layer toggles to view each source on its own or all together.
What the numbers sound like
- 30 dBAWhisper
- 40 dBASoft rainfall
- 45 dBAQuiet suburban street at night
- 50 dBAQuiet office
- 55 dBAEPA outdoor threshold: light traffic 100 ft away
- 60 dBANormal conversation an arm's length away
- 65 dBABusy restaurant
- 70 dBAHighway traffic 50 ft away
- 80 dBACity bus interior
Population Above the EPA Outdoor Threshold
The EPA's 55 dBA outdoor reference level is a common benchmark for residential noise exposure, especially for activity interference, annoyance, and long-term community noise concerns. About 2,246 Barnum West residents, or 57.3%, live above that level. By land area, 61.7% of Barnum West is above 55 dBA.
38.3% below 55 dBA
61.7% above 55 dBA
See how noise in Barnum West compares to similar-sized neighborhoods.
Noise by Part of Barnum West
Average noise levels for Barnum West residents, grouped by direction from the center of Barnum West. The highest population-weighted average is in southern Barnum West; the lowest is in southeastern Barnum West, where just 23% of residents live in blocks above the EPA's 55 dBA threshold, about half the share in the loudest section.
Southern Barnum West
62.1 dBA · Loud
Busy restaurant
Northwestern Barnum West
60.9 dBA · Loud
Normal conversation an arm’s length away
Southwestern Barnum West
60.6 dBA · Loud
Normal conversation an arm’s length away
Central Barnum West
57.1 dBA · Moderate-loud
Normal conversation an arm’s length away
Southeastern Barnum West
55.0 dBA · Moderate-loud
Quiet office to normal conversation
To the human ear, noise in southern Barnum West sounds about 64% louder than in southeastern Barnum West, a 7.1 dBA gap. Every 10 dBA roughly doubles perceived loudness. Within any of these directions, two homes a quarter mile apart can still differ by 10 or more dBA depending on how close they sit to a major highway.
How far back from do you need to be?
produces an estimated 69 dBA at its loudest centerline points. Noise drops logarithmically with distance, with the exact rate depending on what's between you and the road. Tree cover, walls, terrain, and pavement type all matter. At roughly a quarter mile back, traffic fades into the noise level of a soft rainfall.
At source
69 dBA
Highway traffic 50 ft away
165 ft
57 dBA
Normal conversation an arm’s length away
330 ft
50 dBA
Quiet office
660 ft
42 dBA
Quiet suburban street at night
¼ mile
35 dBA
Soft rainfall
½ mile
35 dBA
Soft rainfall
Calculated from the model's calibrated attenuation formula. About 10% of Barnum West sits under tree canopy (lighter than most neighborhoods) and roughly 41% is impervious surface like pavement and rooftops. Both are folded into the per-place decay rate above. Heavier canopy pulls noise down faster with distance; impervious surfaces slow the drop.
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Airport Noise
Denver International (DEN) sits northeast of Barnum West. The U.S. Department of Transportation measures aviation noise around this airport directly, and the model uses those federal measurements rather than synthetic predictions.
Blocks under the approach and departure paths carry combined road-plus-aviation noise, with some exceeding 75 dBA on the map's Overall layer. Blocks on the opposite side of Barnum West, particularly to the southwest, show no measurable aviation contribution. Use the Aviation toggle on the map above to isolate the airport's footprint.
How Noise Is Distributed Across Barnum West
The bar chart below shows the share of Barnum West residents in each noise band. About 37% of residents live below the EPA's 55 dBA threshold, and roughly 22% live in blocks above 60 dBA. Long-term exposure in that range is linked to elevated stress hormones and cardiovascular risk.
How Barnum West Compares
Barnum West sits at the louder end of the spectrum. Below: how Barnum West's average outdoor noise and share of residents above the EPA threshold compare with Barnum, Central West Denver, Molholm Two Creeks, and Spivak.
Average noise level (dBA)
Barnum West's 55.8 dBA pop-weighted average is at the louder end of the spectrum. Colorado as a whole averages 51.9 dBA and the U.S. averages 52.0 dBA. Both are lower than Barnum West because most of either area is rural land away from major roads.
Share of residents above 55 dBA
About 57.3% of Barnum West residents live in blocks where outdoor levels exceed the EPA's 55 dBA threshold. That's in the middle of its peer group. Measured by land area instead, 61.7% of Barnum West's footprint sits above 55 dBA, against a Colorado average of 25.4% and a national average of 28.1%.
What This Means if You're Moving to Barnum West
- Distance from highways matters more than the neighborhood name. Two homes in the same zip code can differ by 20 dBA if one sits 100 meters from and the other 500 meters away. The model captures this at 100-meter resolution, so noise exposure changes block by block.
- Tree canopy can help reduce modeled noise exposure. Roughly 10% of Barnum West is under tree cover (lighter than most neighborhoods), and the dominant land cover is low-intensity developed land. Both are measured from federal USDA Forest Service and USGS satellite imagery at 30-meter resolution. Streets with 60% or higher canopy show 3 to 5 dBA lower noise than comparable streets with bare ground or pavement, which is why the per-place decay rate above already accounts for it.
- Airport noise is directional. Denver International's approach paths concentrate aviation noise to the northeast. Neighborhoods to the southwest of downtown show no measurable contribution from the airport.
